ABU DHABI: On the 25th anniversary edition of the EuroLeague, the organization is widening its horizons by staging its Final Four in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
This is just the second time in EuroLeague history that the Final Four will be taking place outside of Europe, and given the games in the UAE capital have already sold out, it promises to be an unforgettable showcase of elite basketball.
The fight for European basketball’s ultimate prize tips-off at Etihad Arena on Friday evening, with Fenerbahce taking on defending champions Panathinaikos (7 p.m. local time), before Olympiacos square off with Monaco (10 p.m.).
Three-time EuroLeague Final Four MVP and three-time NBA champion Toni Kukoc is in town promoting the event, and he kicked-off his Friday with a friendly round of golf with UAE pro Ismail Sharif at Yas Acres Golf and Country Club.
Arab News caught up with the Croatian Chicago Bulls legend to discuss the EuroLeague’s debut in Abu Dhabi, his thoughts on the globalization of the game of basketball, and lots more.
Welcome back to Abu Dhabi. What do you think it means for the EuroLeague to take this unprecedented step and stage its Final Four in the Gulf region for the first time?
Like every other sport, you can’t call it European, you can’t mention it as a national thing. Every sport is global, so I think it’s great for the fans and you have fans all over the world. And for them to have a chance to see their favorite guys live and then get to the games and maybe get the chance to talk to them, get autographs and then take pictures, I think it’s awesome. I think it’s something special.
In my days, I was fortunate enough to play all over the world and you don’t actually know how many fans you have around the world until you meet them. And playing for the Bulls for a long time, we had this one wall that they kept letters and pictures from around the world and it would really be amazing to see pictures from like Tibet or somewhere in Africa or somewhere in Russia or Australia being a Bulls fan.
So for them to get the chance to maybe see us play somewhere close to them was phenomenal. And I think it’s the same thing here. I don’t see why would (a) European League be just bound to be played over there if they have a chance to play here.
How do you see this globalization of basketball has impacted the sport?
Talking centuries ago back, you had maybe three or four powerhouses that you knew, they’re going to be in the semifinals and finals of the Olympics, of the World Championships, and things like that. But nowadays, if a national team has a good generation, they have a chance to win Olympics, to play in the finals of the World Championships. Which we saw in Paris last year. (The) France team almost beat (the) US. Serbia almost beat (the) US. So basketball got much closer, much better everywhere.
And I think it’s great for the game of basketball. It’s great for the fans. And it’s just a testament that a lot of guys are going to the NBA and trying to see how good they are.
When I went there, very few of us went there and we didn’t know if we’re going to be good enough to make it. Now people go there with the idea that they can be the MVPs, they can win championships, they can have a main role in their teams. So basketball just got way better.
You went from playing for Benetton Treviso in Italy to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA back in 1993. Was it easy for you to feel like you belonged there when you first arrived in the US?
We talked about that with the Yugoslavian national team, because a bunch of us, five, maybe six of us, got drafted by really good basketball teams.
So we’re talking the teams that were deep in the playoffs, the teams that were winning championships. Dino (Radja) was drafted by the Boston Celtics. Drazen (Petrovic) was drafted by Portland.
Vlade (Divac) was drafted by the (Los Angeles) Lakers. I was drafted by the Bulls. But we knew, because we played a few games against US junior teams during the World Games. So we had a chance to play against ... Alonzo Mourning, Larry Johnson, Gary Payton, the guys that became a future of the NBA, All-Stars, Hall-of-Famers. So comparing to our age, we knew that we were good enough. But you never know.
So once, let’s say, we broke that barrier and we went there and started playing for the teams and getting the minutes and getting into starting lineups and all that, we proved that the basketball is played everywhere, that everybody can play in the NBA.
Right now, guys are going over there, they get accepted right away, with the knowledge of how good of a player they are.
When I went to the Bulls, nobody but maybe Jerry Krause and one scout saw me and talked to me and then saw me play. Right now, you had a chance, for Luka Doncic, to see him as a 15-year-old because you can turn on YouTube and see all his games. So the other guys, and they have a better understanding (of) how good these players are. So they give them a chance right away as soon as they get there.
You were on a superstar Bulls team that had Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. You played a selfless brand of basketball, and came off the bench to save the day in whichever role was needed on the day. You were extremely successful at that.
When you see now how there are big teams where the central star is European, do you imagine if you were playing now, would you have played a different style of basketball?
Well, the style did change. I was maybe one of the first ones to do that style of play, the tall guy that can shoot threes, that can play outside. I learned actually to play a post up position in the NBA because my position was occupied by two not bad players, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. So I needed, in order to get my minutes, playing minutes, I had to learn how to play other positions.
But once I did that, it was really easy to implement me in because I can play any of five positions. So it’s perfect for the guys coming from Europe because the basketball is taught that way in Europe, that regardless of your height, you need to learn fundamentals of the game. The shoot, pass, dribble, play inside, outside.
I said that yesterday in some interview, if you can pick a team that you can have a point guard on each position, I would probably have Tony Parker being a point guard playmaker, then Luka Doncic or Drazen Petrovic, for that matter, who is a two-guard playmaker. Maybe myself, maybe Giannis Antetokounmpo playing a point guard three position. Then you have Pau Gasol or Dirk Nowitzki, the guys that can play point guard four position. And obviously, you can have Nikola Jokic or maybe Sabonis that can play a five position point guard. And I don’t know who can beat a team like that.
That’s why I say that the Bulls, at the time, it was my favorite and it still is my favorite offense, the triangle offense, because five guys can go everywhere on a court. They just have to know and be together and be synchronized. But especially when you get Michael, Scottie, Dennis, (Ron) Harper, myself, Steve (Kerr), Luke (Longley), when you have guys that understand and appreciate each other and they know their individual roles in a team, it was a pleasure to play.
No one has gone back-to-back in the NBA for a while now, since the (Golden State) Warriors in 2017 and 2018, and I’m just wondering if you look at the Chicago team you played on, the way you guys were able to dominate year after year; if you put them in today’s game, do you think they could dominate?
It’s hard. I mean, it’s hard because every year you have new young guys coming in. Maybe it’s easier these days to create a team that three guys want to play together, and they demand trades and they say, I just want to go here or I don’t want to go there.
And then, let’s say right now, there’s a chance, for example, that LeBron leaves or stays, but Lakers get Jokic or Antetokounmpo, or both of them. Who’s going to beat that team? I mean, who has a chance to beat that team? Or, for example, Jokic goes to OKC (Oklahoma City Thunder). Who’s going to beat that team?
But at the same time, you have all these young guys, new guys. Again, if you bring Jokic to San Antonio and you put him with Victor Wembanyama, who’s going to beat that team? There are so many options, so many chances. I’m just glad that basketball is on that level, that it’s appreciated, that it’s nice to watch.
The players have been amazing. People were talking about how bad the season is, how the basketball is not really watchable, this and that. But whoever watches this year’s playoffs, has got to be more than happy with the games they saw.
Where do you think Giannis (Antetokounmpo) will end up if he leaves the Bucks?
I hope they all go to the Bulls. I would really, really love all of them to come to the Bulls.
I’m a part of the Bulls. I shouldn’t probably say that because I work for the Bulls, but it would be nice to see great basketball.
